Stencil stamp



S. G. COLLINS Nov. 2l, 1950 STENCIL STAMP Filed Sept. 14, 1949 INVENTOR.

Patented Nov. 21, 195

UNITED STATES PATENT `OFFICE STENCIL STAMP sammy G. collins, oklahoma city, Okla. Application September 14, 1949, Serial No. 115,753

2 Claims. (Cl. 101-125) (Granted underY the act of March 3, 1883, as amended April 30, 192g; 370 0. G. 757) The invention described herein may be manufactured and used by or for the Government for governmental purposes Without payment to me of any royalty thereon.

This invention relates to a stencil stamp and is particularly applicable where a limited number of the same item is to be posted, then the stamp changed to a different item.

The principal object of the invention is to pro- .vide a stamp of this character which is of low initial cost and which may, after considerable usage, be set up for another item with insignificant expense in time, labor and material.

The illustrative embodiment of the invention herein shown and described consists essentially of a stamp body, having the underside or Working surface faced with a hard felt stamp pad over which a piece of typewriter-cut stencil is stretched. Clamps are provided to engage opposite edges of the stencil to keep the stencil tautened over the felt pad. Springs maintain the clamps in operative engagement and levers are applicable to release the clamps which hold the stencil edges when the stencil is to be readjusted or renewed. The embodiment shown is hereinafter more completely described, referenc being made to drawings wherein,

Fig. l is a perspective View of a complete assembled stencil stamp made in accordance with my invention;

Fig. 2 is an end view of the device shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a transverse section through the stencil stamp taken at 3--3 oi Fig. 1.

Like reference characters refer to like parts throughout the several views.

Referring now to the drawing, a wood block i $3, preferably hardwood, is rounded along the upper edge as at l2 and concaved medially of its width, as at I4, to provide an effective gripping portion for one or both oi the hands of the user.

Near the lower edge of the block le oppositely disposed V grooves l5 and la. extend longitudinally the full length of the block, and a pair of round rods E8 and I8a are nested in the grooves and maintained in position by small extension springs 2li, one at each end of the block, the end turns of the springs being hooked over the ends of the rods i8 and Ita into annular grooves formed in the rods. To provide clearance space for the springs 20, the block i@ is provided in each end with a transverse slot 22 vertically positioned in substantially the same horizontal plane as the V grooves.

Extending longitudinally along the underside 2 of the block l ll and permanently cemented thereto isa strip ol hard felt 2e, the length of which had preferably be about the length of the block i 6 minus the depth of the two slots', 22. The strip of felt is saturated ywith mimeograph ink. The item which it ls desired lto stamp on a considerable number of copies is typed on a piece of stencilsheet 26 which should be about as long as the felt strip Eil and wide enough to extend across the bottom of the `felt pad 2Q up the sides and under the rods iii and enough farther to permit the ends to be grasped by means oi the lingers when the stencil is being adjusted across the underside of the pad 24.

The lever means which acts in opposition to the springs 2t to raise either of the rods I8 one at a time out of the V groove It to free one edge ci the stencil comprises two levers of the rst order 28, one on each end of the block pivoted on wood screws 3d in the ends of the block. A rod 32 connects the power ends of the levers 26 whereby both levers may be operated coincidentally and thereby both ends of the same rod raised out of the V groove. The ulcrum screws Sil are positioned to provide a' mechanical advantage of about f our to one in the lever.

The operation of the stencil stamp herein shown is substantially as follows:

The item to be posted is typed on the stencil sheet. The lever bar 32 is then drawn to one or the other side of center with respect to the rounded portion l2 of the block I as for instance in Fig. 2, until the rod I8 on the opposite side is raised well out of the V groove I6. One edge of the stencil 26 is inserted under the raised rod i8 and the stencil shifted until the typing is correctli,7 positioned over the felt strip 24. The lever bar 32 is then released to allow the rod to seat in the V groove i6 with the edge of the stencil between the rod and the bottom of the V groove.

The lever bar 32 is now moved oppositely of the direction just described which raises the other rod Ia out of its groove Ia so that the other edge of the stencil 26 may be clamped in the same manner as the rst edge.

It is noted that if the stencil has one edge clamped as above indicated and the other edge is drawn fairly taut by hand before the lever bar is released, the movement of the rod I8a into the groove Ia with the stencil 26 between the rod |8a and the groove I'Ba smooths out the stencil and tautens it over` the pad 24. This is an important feature of my invention.

While the embodiment of my invention herein disclosed is shown as applied to the stamping of a single line, it will of course be understood that itis within the contemplation of my invention to provide a block l and felt pad 24 which is large enough to accommodate a stencil of several lines, the scope of the invention being limited only by the following claims.

I claim:

1. A quick-renewable stencil stamp which comprises a body block shaped along the upper edge to provide a convenient hand grip, two opposite grooves extending longitudinally of the block one in each side of the block near the lower edge thereof, two rods extending longitudinally of the block lying in said grooves and extending slightly beyond the ends thereof, extension coil springs joining the extending ends of the rods and drawing said rods to thebottoms of said grooves, transverse slots being provided in the ends of the block to admit said springs freely, an inking pad fast on the underside of said block, levers of the first class pivoted on the ends of the block, the upper ends being joined by a rod for simultaneous movement, and the lower ends being positioned between the said extending ends of said rods whereby the rods may be alternately raised out of the grooves for the insertion of one of the edges of a stencil sheet, the intermediate portion of which is adapted to extend over said inking pad.

2. A quick renewable stencil stamp which comprises a body block having two longitudinal grooves one on each side of the block near the lower edge and two transverse grooves one on each end of the block joining the ends of the longitudinal grooves stencil clamping rods lying in the longitudinal grooves with the ends extending through the transverse grooves and slightly beyond the ends of the block, springs in the transverse grooves having the ends hooked over the ends of the stencil clamping rods, whereby the stencil clamping rods are drawn tightly into the bottoms of the longitudinal grooves, an inking pad fast on the bottom of said block, levers on the ends of the block extending from the bottom of the block to a point above the top, the lower ends of the levers extending loosely between the ends of the stencil clamping rods, axially aligned fulcrums for said levers carried bv said block intermediate the ends or" said levers, and means joining said levers for coincident movement, whereby rocking of the levers about their fulcrums in one direction raises one stencil clamping rod out of its longitudinal groove and rocking the levers about their fulcrums in the other direction raises the other stencil clamping rod out of its longitudinal groove.

SAMMY G. COLLINS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the iile of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,610,117 Black Dec. 7, 1926 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 652,766 France Oct. 29, 1928 

